HOH's One-Minute Recess: Couch Potato, With Historical Significance

Turns out that Members of Congress who sleep in their offices aren’t just saving a few extra bucks. Their efforts could land them a place in a museum.

The black leather sofa that former Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.) slept on during his many years in office will be displayed at the Holland Museum in Holland, Mich., the Detroit News reports. Museum officials tell the newspaper that the couch is “the perfect symbol of Dutch frugality.”

Hoekstra slept on the couch his last eight years in Congress; it replaced an early model that he retired after 10 years. Hoekstra admits he has no idea where that first couch wound up.

“I’m guessing it’s either shredded in a trash heap somewhere,” he tells the paper, “or maybe some freshman is looking at it wondering, ‘Where did this ratty old couch come from?’”

As for the second couch, the Holland Museum paid Hoekstra $1,600 to add it to its collection, the paper reports.